Cloud Computing for Web Hosting

Traditional Hosting vs. Cloud Based Hosting

Hosting in Traditional EnvironmentUsually traditional hosting has three types:Dedicated hosting : In this type of hosting, the hosting provider manages the Server resources exclusively, which includes provisioning of bandwidth RAM and CPU as promised in their plans. In dedicated hosting, client has complete control over the server management like its OS upgrades, software updates and patches.Shared hosting : Here the server's resources are shared by a number of other websites. It's a cost- efficient, low-maintenance way to host a website or application, and the hosting company is responsible for managing, maintaining, and updating the units.Drawbacks of Shared Hosting Plans: • When multiple websites are hosted on single server and some websites attract heavy traffic even other websites too experience slowdown. • Security breaches and other performance issues on other sites make take yours down as well. • If the server itself experiences technical problems, everyone hosted on that server will be affected. • With shared hosting, you're also paying for a set amount of storage and processing power. If you have a predictable flow of traffic, this may be a good solution for you. But if your traffic is increasing rapidly, or if you see sudden spikes in traffic due to a new product or feature, you may be constrained to the amount of storage you currently have. • You will need to adapt by purchasing additional server space to add to your storage space and processing power. But if traffic falls again, you will be paying for resources that you aren't using.

Virtual Private Servers : These hosting is special hosting service which offers a virtualized server resources, it’s based on Virtualization technology. VPS hosting plans are like private clouds but here too you end up paying upfront , though based on virtualization technology VPS still suffer from same problems like no scalability, and no fault tolerance, no failure redundancy.

Summary• In traditional hosting you are paying upfront on assumption that your are well aware of traffic your website would attract.• You cannot scale easily either downgrading the resources or upgrading is not possible, you have to switch to different plan entirely.Hosting in Cloud EnvironmentThe major advantage of Cloud hosting is it based on pay-as-go model. And scalability is its inherent feature.

Cloud hosting providersprovide virtual space on an on-demand, as-needed basis, instead of paying for a set amount of space upfront on a single server, the user pays as they go for what they actually use. Cloud based hosting allows load balanced architecture using a cluster of multiple servers. The information and applications contained on those servers can be replicated across the whole world using edge locations and datacenters distributed worldwide, meaning that if an individualserver goes down, there is no lost information or downtime. Elasticity and resilience are some of the peculiar features of cloud based hosting. Problems with one website or application are unlikely to affect your bandwidth or performance of other websites when hosted on cloud based platforms.Most companies offer cloud hosting as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) model . They house, run, and maintain all of the necessary hardware, and the customer pays for the resources the use, similar to how we pay for utilities like electricity. Examples are AWS and RackSpace. In terms of cost wise aspect , you just pay for what you exactly need. No upfront investments. Cloud hosting is more quickly scalable than traditional hosting.

ComparisonsCloud Hosting vs. Virtual Private ServerThe virtual private server, called VPS, is a hosting solution that also uses virtualization technology just like Cloud hosting does. The VPS allows multiple servers to function as one physical server for a higher utilization of the available resources. It is also known as Dedicated virtualization or Private Cloud. Unfortunately the VPS servers are less efficient since they allocate a guaranteed amount of resources to each client that can never be rerouted to others. This means that one client could have multiple free resources, while another is overloaded.

Cloud Hosting vs. Shared HostingShared hosting is the most popular hosting solution that can suit even the most tight budget. But using a shared hosting solution also means that the user has to share the server resources with other users. If your website is hosted on a shared hosting server, all your data and the application you are using will be hosted with the applications of all other users on one and the same server. Your website will share the same server resources as all other websites on the server such as CPU, Memory, disc space, bandwidth etc. The servers running shared hosting accounts are almost always fully loaded. If one website overloads the server, all users will suffer from low speed or downtime.

Cloud vs. Dedicated HostingDedicated Servers are combined with managed hosting services. The web hosting provider leases out the full control to the client. But he still owns the machines and has to monitor the performance of the server ensuring the uninterrupted work flow of the server. These services also include technical support, backup services, installation of security patches etc. and thus are more expensive than Cloud hosting. Another difference between the two hosting solutions is that the resources of a dedicated server are often underutilized. A fully loaded cloud can save a lot of electricity and money and gets you flexibility of stop using when not needed and use only when there is need.

When hosting your website using traditional hosting

Following are the steps to get your website hosted. 1) Buy hosting plan which suits your needs 2) Host your site using cPanel/Plesk interface provided to you by hosting provider. 3) Do appropriate DNS changes , update name servers if required by your hosting provider. 4) Usually most traditional hosting companies offer free support.

SummarySetting up websites on Cloud requires you to have some technical knowledge about web servers database servers. Especially under Linux environment. Learning curve for Cloud is bit tough you need to be technical and most cloud based companies do not offer free support and their support plans are costly. You need to take help of software persons who will setup your website on cloud for few bucks.

Traditional Hosting vs. Cloud Based Hosting

Hosting in Traditional Environment

Traditional Hosting vs. Cloud Based Hosting

Hosting in Traditional EnvironmentUsually traditional hosting has three types:Dedicated hosting : In this type of hosting, the hosting provider manages the Server resources exclusively, which includes provisioning of bandwidth RAM and CPU as promised in their plans. In dedicated hosting, client has complete control over the server management like its OS upgrades, software updates and patches.Shared hosting : Here the server's resources are shared by a number of other websites. It's a cost- efficient, low-maintenance way to host a website or application, and the hosting company is responsible for managing, maintaining, and updating the units.Drawbacks of Shared Hosting Plans: • When multiple websites are hosted on single server and some websites attract heavy traffic even other websites too experience slowdown. • Security breaches and other performance issues on other sites make take yours down as well. • If the server itself experiences technical problems, everyone hosted on that server will be affected. • With shared hosting, you're also paying for a set amount of storage and processing power. If you have a predictable flow of traffic, this may be a good solution for you. But if your traffic is increasing rapidly, or if you see sudden spikes in traffic due to a new product or feature, you may be constrained to the amount of storage you currently have. • You will need to adapt by purchasing additional server space to add to your storage space and processing power. But if traffic falls again, you will be paying for resources that you aren't using.

Virtual Private Servers : These hosting is special hosting service which offers a virtualized server resources, it’s based on Virtualization technology. VPS hosting plans are like private clouds but here too you end up paying upfront , though based on virtualization technology VPS still suffer from same problems like no scalability, and no fault tolerance, no failure redundancy.

Summary• In traditional hosting you are paying upfront on assumption that your are well aware of traffic your website would attract.• You cannot scale easily either downgrading the resources or upgrading is not possible, you have to switch to different plan entirely.Hosting in Cloud EnvironmentThe major advantage of Cloud hosting is it based on pay-as-go model. And scalability is its inherent feature.

Cloud hosting providersprovide virtual space on an on-demand, as-needed basis, instead of paying for a set amount of space upfront on a single server, the user pays as they go for what they actually use. Cloud based hosting allows load balanced architecture using a cluster of multiple servers. The information and applications contained on those servers can be replicated across the whole world using edge locations and datacenters distributed worldwide, meaning that if an individualserver goes down, there is no lost information or downtime. Elasticity and resilience are some of the peculiar features of cloud based hosting. Problems with one website or application are unlikely to affect your bandwidth or performance of other websites when hosted on cloud based platforms.Most companies offer cloud hosting as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) model . They house, run, and maintain all of the necessary hardware, and the customer pays for the resources the use, similar to how we pay for utilities like electricity. Examples are AWS and RackSpace. In terms of cost wise aspect , you just pay for what you exactly need. No upfront investments. Cloud hosting is more quickly scalable than traditional hosting.

ComparisonsCloud Hosting vs. Virtual Private ServerThe virtual private server, called VPS, is a hosting solution that also uses virtualization technology just like Cloud hosting does. The VPS allows multiple servers to function as one physical server for a higher utilization of the available resources. It is also known as Dedicated virtualization or Private Cloud. Unfortunately the VPS servers are less efficient since they allocate a guaranteed amount of resources to each client that can never be rerouted to others. This means that one client could have multiple free resources, while another is overloaded.

Cloud Hosting vs. Shared HostingShared hosting is the most popular hosting solution that can suit even the most tight budget. But using a shared hosting solution also means that the user has to share the server resources with other users. If your website is hosted on a shared hosting server, all your data and the application you are using will be hosted with the applications of all other users on one and the same server. Your website will share the same server resources as all other websites on the server such as CPU, Memory, disc space, bandwidth etc. The servers running shared hosting accounts are almost always fully loaded. If one website overloads the server, all users will suffer from low speed or downtime.

Cloud vs. Dedicated HostingDedicated Servers are combined with managed hosting services. The web hosting provider leases out the full control to the client. But he still owns the machines and has to monitor the performance of the server ensuring the uninterrupted work flow of the server. These services also include technical support, backup services, installation of security patches etc. and thus are more expensive than Cloud hosting. Another difference between the two hosting solutions is that the resources of a dedicated server are often underutilized. A fully loaded cloud can save a lot of electricity and money and gets you flexibility of stop using when not needed and use only when there is need.

When hosting your website using traditional hosting

Following are the steps to get your website hosted. 1) Buy hosting plan which suits your needs 2) Host your site using cPanel/Plesk interface provided to you by hosting provider. 3) Do appropriate DNS changes , update name servers if required by your hosting provider. 4) Usually most traditional hosting companies offer free support.

SummarySetting up websites on Cloud requires you to have some technical knowledge about web servers database servers. Especially under Linux environment. Learning curve for Cloud is bit tough you need to be technical and most cloud based companies do not offer free support and their support plans are costly. You need to take help of software persons who will setup your website on cloud for few bucks.